In recent days, clips of lectures on “offering”, “inviting the dead” and “resolving grievances” by Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh – abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda (Quang Ninh province) and Ms. Pham Thi Yen have been continuously “revealed” by the online community. Notably, clips of Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh and Ms. Pham Thi Yen with baseless statements and insults to wounded soldiers, people infected with Agent Orange/dioxin and heroic martyrs who sacrificed their blood and bones for the independence and freedom of the country have been shared at a “dizzying” rate and caused outrage in public opinion.
Specifically, in a clip shared by TikTok account @duongvo0017, recording Ms. Pham Thi Yen’s lecture to Buddhists, the content is: “Heroes and soldiers who go to fight the enemy receive light retribution, why? Because it is they who are fighting against those who have invaded their home; Because our country Vietnam does not invade others, we do not steal, but when they enter our country, they invade and they commit the crime of theft. Because people protect us, that karma is due to the heroic martyrs in previous lives who were also caught in the karma of killing.”
With these words of Ms. Yen, the online community is very upset. General Director’s account said “Even a nun who has practiced for thousands of lifetimes cannot fully understand the value of sacrifice. During Buddha’s time, if there was a war, it would have to be fought.” Or KT account expressed “false propaganda about heroes”…
| Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh had insulting words about wounded soldiers, sick soldiers, and people infected with Agent Orange dioxin. Photo cut from clip |
Not only Ms. Yen, but in another clip shared by TikTok account @daophatonline, which recorded the lecture on cancer by Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh, there were also words that were considered offensive to wounded soldiers, sick soldiers, and people infected with Agent Orange dioxin….
Specifically, Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh said: “I can confirm that nearly 100% of cancers are caused by karma. Scientifically, it can be due to chemicals, radiation or many other things, however, it is due to our bad karma. Everything that happens to me is my bad karma, why don’t others suffer?”
Notably, to prove the above statement, the abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda also gave the example: “Why is this person the child of an Agent Orange victim, and not another person? I have to be the child of a father affected by Agent Orange dioxin, also because of my own bad karma.”
According to Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh, Buddhists know this so they do not blame anyone. “For a Buddhist, one never blames heaven, blames earth, blames the government or blames war… not blaming anything but blaming oneself because in a previous life one did not cultivate blessings, so one has to suffer like this. Because in a previous life one created evil karma, created enmity and resentment with living beings, so in this life one is being avenged by them.” – Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh said.
The abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda also confirmed that when a cancer patient uses a knife or scissors to remove this tumor, it metastasizes to another place. “Because the ghosts saw us using knives and scissors to cut it off, you owe me, I’m coming to collect your debt and you want to fight me, then I’ll show you, that’s how it metastasized. Using radiation means we’re attacking it in a holistic way. When we attack in a holistic way, it will destroy all of our internal organs.” – Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh preached.
In addition, this person also said that although radiotherapy can kill cancer cells, healthy human cells are also affected. “There is no reason to destroy only cancer cells, while damaging your healthy cells as well.” – he said.
After that, the abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda also told the story that if the medicine kills mosquitoes, people who inhale it will also be poisoned and affected; If the medicine kills a rat, it will kill a person who eats it, etc. to further prove his story.
Continuing the story with the Buddhists, Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh said that Buddhism teaches revenge through compassion and patience, never through war. “Buddhists will use spiritual methods, the monks perform rituals to appeal to the wronged family or the deceased. When inviting those unjust souls out, they will borrow the body of a person with a pure heart and will always say that in a past life this person came to steal their house, then killed it, so now they want their life.” – Mr. Thich Truc Thai Minh continued and emphasized that the monks will ask for repentance for the deceased, guide the deceased to repent, and then repatriate the merits for the deceased…
Notably, the abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda also said that when a sick person dies and asks for his life, the monks will ask not for his life but for his wealth (wealth – Reporter). “It’s okay if you don’t lose your life, it’s okay to lose your property. In real life, people say, one is to lose someone, the other is to lose property, property goes for people, they never ask for your debt but they forgive you, you don’t lose anything. – he said.
Regarding the activities of “summoning the dead” and “resolving debts of creditors” that caused a stir in public opinion in 2019 at Ba Vang Pagoda, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha concluded: “summoning the dead, resolving debts of creditors”, curing illnesses for people and Buddhists; “summoning the dead, possessing souls, predicting fate”, and having to “repay debts to the dead” with money or unpaid labor are not in accordance with traditional Buddhist rituals.
Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh and Ba Vang Pagoda violated the Church Charter, “hurting the reputation of the Church and Sangha”. Therefore, Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh was suspended from all positions in the Buddhist Church. The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha requested Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh to repent the Great Monk for 49 days.